Prosecutor: IPad theft defendants ambushed victim

LAS VEGAS 
Two men accused of killing a high school freshman who refused to let go of his iPad were like wild animals ambushing a weak victim, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Michael Samual Solid and Jacob "Jake" Dismont stood in shackles before a judge as Chief Deputy Clark County District Attorney Robert Daskas cited convenience store video he said shows Solid and Dismont planning the fatal robbery. Members of the dead teen's family wept softly in the courtroom gallery.

Daskas compared Solid, 21, and Dismont, 18, to "lions on the Serengeti waiting to pounce, to ambush the smallest member of a pack."

Marcos Vicente Arenas, 15, was killed May 16 while trying to hold onto his iPad computer tablet after Dismont grabbed it and jumped into a moving SUV driven by Solid, according to police.

In some cases, police say, victims are distracted while talking or texting when a thief grabs the device and runs to a waiting vehicle.

According to a police report, security video shows Solid walking past Arenas at the store not far from Bonanza High School and then fueling the white Ford Explorer with no license plate. Dismont gets out of the SUV and follows Arenas as he walks away, according to the police report.

"They had a plan, an orchestrated, preconceived plan to rob this 15-year-old," Daskas told the judge, according to the Las Vegas Sun (
http://bit.ly/16ctTTG
).

The video has not been made public.

Arenas, who received the iPad for his birthday, was fatally injured when he was dragged beneath the wheels of the vehicle. His funeral was set for Friday.

Solid, who police said has a history of petty crimes, and Dismont, a former high school baseball player, are charged with felony murder, conspiracy and robbery. Each could face life in prison if convicted.

Public defender Jeff Banks, representing Dismont, called the case "a very sad situation with one child lost, and another child facing an uncertain future."

Solid's public defender, David Schieck, disagreed in court with Daskas' characterization of the incident. Schieck later declined comment.

Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan ordered Solid and Dismont held without bail pending a June 7 preliminary hearing.